Involuntary movement spasms

[fionasmom]

So glad that FIP is off the table. I have a friend whose dog did much better on Keppra than on phenobarbital, so hoping for the best.

 

[kittyprincesss]

Just caught up with your thread, my goodness this sweet girl has been through it hasnt she? So glad to hear she is receiving exceptional care at the current doctor. Please keep us updated, you will both be in my thoughts and I am praying for positivity

 

[cat nap]

Update again:

We just got off the phone with the cat neurologist who has been treating her. She has the spinal fluid results and says not to worry what the other vet said, it is not Feline Infectious Peritonitis as she would be showing major symptoms by now if it was, plus there are no lesions on her brain as per the MRI.

The neurologist is going to change up her epilepsy medication to Keppra (Levetiracetam) next week if still no changes from Phenobarbital (we are waiting for the 2 week mark before switching)

Oh, thank you so much for this "updated"...update.

When I read the previous one, I was going to write..."not to lose hope"...since there are other medications to try out.
The other member from the 'head jerking to one side' thread, Head jerking to one side ...had wrote that her cat was on "on Keppra and Phenobarbital which are seizure medicines, plus he was briefly on Midazolam which is a sedative. And then they put him on Prednisolone which is a steroid, in case he had inflammation in his brain. Then finally they tried the vitamin B shots"
I also read that a person's cat was on Clonazepam...(in a comment section, online.)
So basically there are many medications to try out, and also a mixture of many, it seems, before you may see adequate results.

(I'm so thankful that the Neurologist ruled out FIP, because yes, there should be more symptoms, such as not eating, sneezing, upper respiratory symptoms, not being able to move around, etc. (wet form)...not sure about dry form.
Also the only test that I am aware of is the Rivalta test, (another member 'mrsgreenjeens' recently mentioned it in a recent thread), and this is usually done on the exudate samples.)

Your Ouvea does not sound like she has this at all.
Doing titers on her blood work, to see levels of her coronavirus, does not sound helpful, either, since like you mentioned it is quite common in cats, and how would that help her 'seizure symptoms'.
I am curious what type of test that Vet wanted to run?
But no matter, now,...since I'd only believe the Neurologist,...at this point.

Hoping that the EEG was able to pinpoint exactly 'when' the seizures are happening.
And that by learning 'when,'...that the vets or neurologist,...can choose the best medications, to treat the times.
Or even advise of any supplements, or foods, calming products that may help, too.
Also that the vet school has seen other cases where the cats recovered well...and can reach out to other vet schools for further collaborations.

Sending you loads of good Health thoughts, vibes, and prayers, for your Ouvea.
That she gets relief of her symptoms, soon.
Also hoping that Ouvea is managing to sleep for longer lengths of time...since that must be exhausting to not get proper restful sleep.

 

[alibali]

Hi there,
I am the one who posted the old thread about my cat Cooper and his head jerking from the myoclonus. Actually, all his seizures stopped (he had been having partial/focal seizures before the myoclonus) to the point that we were able to taper him off the keppra and phenobarbital, and he takes no meds at all now. The vitamin B injection is what we and the vet felt really worked, which was so strange after trying so many medications a simple vitamin was what he needed!
There was another member I talked to on that thread (the one from Romania) whose cat was having a similar problem and also improved, but she reached out to recently because her cat’s head jerks had returned - she told me that she started giving her cat CBD and that was helping a lot. Maybe worth a try?
I’m so sorry you are going through this. I know how hard it is when you have a sick pet and can’t figure out what’s wrong.

 

[gpfr88]

A update:

After tweaking the phenobarbital, we found a dosage which had been able to prevent the seizures from happening. It has been about a month now since she last had one. However she is still adjusting to the side effects of the medication, for example her balance is still off and she is always tired. She has been slowly getting back to her old self, but we think she won’t be 100% the same while on the medication. In about a year we were told we can wean her off the medication and see if the seizures return.

 

[FeebysOwner]

In about a year we were told we can wean her off the medication and see if the seizures return.

No chance in lowering the dose now by just a 'smidge' to help reduce side effects?

 

[gpfr88]

No chance in lowering the dose now by just a 'smidge' to help reduce side effects?

We thought about it, we are waiting to see if she can adjust.